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Results from the Lawyers of Brown & Crouppen, P.C.

Boat Mechanic’s Family Settles Wrongful Death Suit for $2 Million

$2 Million Settlement

The family of a boat mechanic who died of suffocation after being trapped by an outboard motor that shifted position without warning has settled a wrongful death case against a marine dealer for $2 million. An investigation into the accident revealed that electrical tape had been used to insulate spliced wires leading to the outboard motor.

“Electrical tape, wires and water do not mix,” said Jim Lemonds of the St. Louis-based law firm Brown & Crouppen. Lemonds and Andrea D. McNairy of Brown & Crouppen represented the boat mechanic’s family. The boat mechanic was sent to a home on a Missouri lake to examine a boat. Approximately one week earlier, the boat’s outboard motor – which had been installed by a marine dealer that did not employ the mechanic – had unexpectedly trimmed, or tilted upward, while the owners were operating the boat on the lake.

As the mechanic inspected the motor, it trimmed up to its full mechanical travel limit, pinning the mechanic’s chest between the motor and the tow bar for approximately 25 minutes. The mechanic, who could not be freed, suffocated.

The family alleged that when the marine dealer spliced the motor’s interconnecting cables with the existing trolling motor console cable the splices were insulated with electrical tape, which does not constitute proper insulation in the marine environment

Without admitting liability, the marine dealer agreed to settle the case for $2 million.

Woman awarded $19M in Medical Malpractice Case

$19 Million Verdict

A Belleville, Ill., woman has been awarded $19 million in a medical malpractice case, the largest personal injury verdict awarded in the Southern District of Illinois U.S. district court.

Kimberly Coleman sued the U.S. government on behalf of her five-year-old son, for damages that occurred during his birth at Touchette Regional Hospital in Centreville, Ill. According to the suit, the doctor used a vacuum extractor during birth 15 times, when the manufacturer recommended the device be used only three times. As a result, Coleman’s son now suffers from brain damage.

The physician was determined to be an employee of the United States because the health care group he belongs to, Southern Illinois Healthcare Foundation Inc., receives federal funding. In addition, the doctor was not board certified in obstetrics.

Coleman was represented by St. Louis law firm Brown & Crouppen, which spent more than $170,000 in case expenses on Coleman’s behalf, including fees for expert testimony.

Woman Who Fell Off Bench in Public Venue Reaches $750K Settlement

$750k Settlement

The dispute hinged on whether it was foreseeable that ledge would be used as seating. A woman who broke her neck after she fell backward off a bench in a public venue has settled her premises liability injury claim for $750,000. While visiting the public venue with friends, the woman sat down on a ledge situated along a pedestrian walkway. After sitting down on the bench, she lost her balance and fell backward. Her head struck the concrete floor, and she fractured her second cervical vertebra. After the accident she required one surgery and was required to wear a halo device that immobilized her neck.

The suit alleged that it was foreseeable that patrons would sit on the ledge, that the ledge was not reasonably safe because it had no backrest, that there were no signs warning patrons not to sit on the bench or indicating that the bench was unsafe and that there were no barriers or other objects in place to prevent patrons from sitting on the ledge. The defendants agreed to settle the case for $750,000 without admitting liability.

High School Runner Struck by Utility Truck Receives $1M Settlement

$1M Settlement

Driver crossed over into the wrong lane and allegedly lied about accident location. A high school student who was struck from behind by a utility truck while running on the side of the road has settled his personal injury lawsuit against the utility for $1 million. The student was running in Jefferson County, heading south in the northbound lane of Carol Park Road so that he could see oncoming traffic. The utility truck was traveling south on Carol Park Road when, without warning, it crossed the center line and veered into the northbound lane, striking the student from behind.

The driver drove away, but eventually he turned around, loaded the student into the truck and called the student’s parents to inform them of what had happened. When the utility truck driver arrived at the student’s home, a sheriff’s deputy was waiting. The driver lied to the deputy about the location of the accident and claimed that the student had run in front of his truck and was at fault for the accident. Because of the amount of blood he had lost and the severe pain and fear he was experiencing, the student wasn’t able to refute the driver’s claims at the time.

The day after the accident, however, the student told the sheriff’s deputy that the utility truck driver had lied about the accident. The deputy confirmed the running route with one of the student’s friends and found a blood trail at the accident scene. When confronted, the utility truck driver admitted that he had been “mistaken” about the circumstances surrounding the accident but offered no further explanation for the inconsistencies. The student ended up spending two weeks in the hospital with multiple surgeries and procedures. He also was left unable to run competitively which may limit his ability to secure a college athletic scholarship. On July 14, 2010, without admitting liability, the insurance company agreed to settle the claim for $1 million.

A postal worker who was pinned between two trucks after a driver tried to pull away from a loading dock has settled his personal injury claim against the driver’s employer for $1.5 million.

A U.S. Postal Service employee was backing his truck up to a post office loading dock in downtown St. Louis. When one of the wheels of the truck bumped against a wheel chock, the postal worker got out to remove the obstruction. As he was doing so, a truck owned by a private mail company pulled forward and pinned the postal worker against his truck. As a result, the postal worker suffered serious injuries.

The postal worker and his wife alleged that the private mail company failed to equip its truck with the devices its drivers needed to detect the presence of people, that it failed to have side-view mirrors big enough to eliminate blind spots, that the side-view mirrors weren’t independently adjustable and that the trucks were not equipped with a side collision warning system or blind spot assist system. This failure to properly equip the trucks, the plaintiffs alleged, was negligent and careless and demonstrated a complete indifference or conscious disregard for others that warranted punitive damages. In addition, the plaintiffs claimed that the private mail company failed to properly train and supervise its driver. Without admitting liability, the defendant agreed to settle the case for $1.5 million.

Drug Company Settles Claims for $40 million

$40M Settlement

Multiple victims received cash settlements based on dangerous defective medication use. A large, multinational drug company concealed the dangers of a medication it manufactured. The company knew the drug was defective. It knew that it could cause heart failure and stroke. It knew the drug could cause a patient’s death.

But the company valued profits far more than patients’ lives. So the company exaggerated the drug’s safety, minimized the risks to the FDA and aggressively marketed the drug to physicians. Some patients had heart attacks and some had strokes. Some died.

When people hurt by the drug called Brown and Crouppen for help, we stood up to the multinational company. We sued. And we won a $40 million settlement for our clients.
Far more important than any dollar amount is that lawsuits like the one filed by Brown and Crouppen helped shine a light on the dangerous drug, potentially saving thousands of lives.

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